New Plague Linux Malware Stealthily Maintains SSH Access

New Plague Linux malware stealthily maintains SSH access

A newly discovered Linux malware, which has evaded detection for over a year, allows attackers to gain persistent SSH access and bypass authentication on compromised systems.

How ‘Plague’ infiltrated Linux systems without leaving a trace

Security researchers have discovered an unusually evasive Linux backdoor, undetected even by VirusTotal, compromising systems as a malicious pluggable authentication module (PAM). Dubbed “Plague” by Nextron researchers, the stealthy backdoor lets attackers slip past authentication unnoticed and establish persistent secure shell (SSH) access. “Plague integrates deeply into the authentication stack, survives system updates, and leaves almost no fo…